Belle Litton-Buñag is working as a cook for Vaucluse NYC, a French bistro from the Altamera Group. She finished her Bachelor for Science of International Hospitality Management, Major In Culinary Arts at Enderun Colleges in the Philippines. She moved to New York City from the Philippines almost 3 years ago for an internship in Eleven Madison Park. Upon ending her internship, windows of opportunities opened up for her, and she decided to work and live in New York City. Moving to a massive city like New York at such a young age was a big adjustment for her, but she believes that the values that were instilled in her while growing up in Manila has helped her thrive and excel in her field. Belle has worked in various restaurants, continuing to learn and grow more as a pastry chef, improving her craft in order to reach her main goal.
Tell us about your daily routine in that occupation (a day in the life)?
As a pastry chef, one needs a great amount of knowledge on every known food component to dive into his/her creativity to come up with either simple or adventurous desserts that will meet the expectations of their customers. When I start my day, I would get to work at 9 or 10 am, depending on the season. I will start by setting up the service station, baking off what needs to be done and whipping creams. After, I make a production list on things that need to be done on that specific day such as doing ice cream bases, spinning ice cream, making creams, making ganache, baking cakes, and building them, etc.
What do you love about what you do?
I just love learning more things each day as I get to perfect each recipe I make. Yes, there will always be hard pastry techniques or aspects that are a challenge for me like tempering chocolate, learning fondant and gum paste techniques in making cakes, and candying sugar. Regardless, I would definitely want to get better at them and enlarge my knowledge on everything to (eventually) use it to open up my own business.
What is your passion? How did you discover it?
My passion is baking pastries. I discovered it while I was in school learning to be a cook but I soon realized that I loved to bake and learn more about French pastries instead!
Was there resistance to getting to where you are? What were they? How did you overcome them?
Yes, there was a lot of resistance. New York was always my dream city to live in ever since I was a child. When I went into the field of hospitality with a focus on culinary, I realized moving here would give me greater opportunities to learn and to excel in my craft. Moving to a whole different country, starting on my own and learning how to live an independent life was difficult but, I overcame them day by day. I wanted to work hard and push myself, because I realized that in the future, it will benefit me. I feel that it was a smart choice to get out of my comfort zone and live life learning something new every single day.
What are some of your career highlights? Career goals?
I honestly could say that every place I got to work at in New York was a career goal of mine. I first started out at one of the Top 3 restaurants in the world and a 3 Michelin starred restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, for a 6 month internship. After which, I had the opportunity to work in Dominique Ansel Bakery/Kitchen. Dominique Ansel is a world renowned French chef who owns a bakery and created the famous cronut and cookie shot. Now, I work in Vaucluse, a French bistro, learning to handle service at a very busy pace, which helps me improve and become better.
Any specific thing you’ve learned in your current job that you believe will help you in the future? Tell us the story behind it.
Yes, I did learn the value of acceptance. I learned to accept that there will always be something you don’t know about a specific technique, how some components can never be mixed, what goes together in a dish, or even how to do something in general. I learned to accept criticism from my peers, boss, those below me and even from customers. I saw this lesson come to life when I was asked by my boss to get out of my comfort zone by making a specific dish for the first time. My co – workers loved it, the front of house servers liked it, my boss and their bosses loved it, but the owner of the restaurant found it okay, some hot line kitchen co-workers found it so – so. I learned to accept that as I grow wiser everyday, we can’t please everyone. One person may love a dish you made, the other could hate it. Everyone is very different, and that’s what makes our world unique. The sooner you realize that, it will help you become a better person and a better chef. You learn to move forward with the knowledge you have and the persistence to get better each day.
What role, if any, does being Filipino or the Filipino culture play in your life, your work, or education? (good or bad)
The Filipino culture definitely helped me because I was always brought up to work hard and not give up. Even when times are really difficult, I chose not to give up and to keep pushing myself to get better at things. This Filipino quality has helped me because I was always pampered growing up in the Philippines, so moving to New York, I had to really grow up. The Filipino work ethic has grounded me and helped me as I earned my own money, pay my own bills and do my own chores here in New York.
Hardest struggle/experience of pursuing the field you are in?
The hardest struggle is comparing yourself to others. I felt the discrimination of me being Asian or Filipino as well. Right on the first day of my internship, everyone thought I sucked in the kitchen because of where I’m from. To add on to it, I wasn’t graduated yet and this was my first ever experience out of school. I was in culture shock. Everything was so different, people were very arrogant, but I told myself that there are better days ahead and I was there to learn. When you realize and accept that there will always be someone else better or ahead of you, then it will be easier to focus on yourself to be better. The kitchen is really a tough field because people are always comparing you and judging you based on your skill and speed. It is really hard especially when you’re still in the process of learning and adapting to the culture of the hospitality industry but after a while, it does get easier and better. I was blessed to have family that is very supportive of my dream. They believe that if you really want something and you know you’ll be amazing at it, you just shouldn’t give up and keep pushing yourself to overcome every bump in the road that comes your way.
Practical advice for anyone who wants to go for a goal/dream similar to yours?
I would start by telling you to prepare yourself. Prepare to be the lowest of the low in the kitchen. Open your mind to knowledge and your heart to forgiveness because the kitchen is a brutal and fast place. If you can’t keep up, they will eat you alive with arrogance and negative comments of not being good enough or being too slow or that you’re in the wrong field. Push yourself everyday to be better, stronger, and wiser. I also suggest to be great with your co-workers, use the Filipino charm to gain friends to keep for life because connections are key in this field. The world is very small and everyone you meet can be a golden ticket to your future. Don’t stop pushing yourself. Don’t give up even when things seem hard, you will definitely get better and even if you don’t see progress in yourself, just know others will definitely see it and realize what a great asset you are.
For more of Belle’s work, follow her on Instagram @bellebunag #BellieBakes
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Tagalikha 